1967 Chevelle Dash Restoration - Fade Away

Do-It-Yourself Interior Recolor Kit

Everything is included in the kit to make this a trouble-free operation. Not pictured in this photo is the paintbrush to scrub the deep grain or crevasses. We needed the brush for a home-improvement fix that just couldn't wait.

So here's the scenario: You acquired a one- or two-owner mid-'60s Chevy with a great body, a good daily driver with only a slightly faded or stained interior. There really isn't any reason for you to replace the interior panels, because a simple clean up and new coat of color would rejuvenate the vinyl just fine. So you take a trip to the local parts house or hobby shop only to find out the vinyl spray they offer comes in the basic solid colors that, for the most part, are not going to match the rest of your interior. You might think, okay, I'll just spray all the panels black (because everything goes good with black, right?) and just live with it. That's the easy way out.

Luckily you now have a few more options than that. Just Dashes can not only restore just about any part of your Chevy interior to factory color and grain but also offers kits called Fade Away that you can use at home to brighten up and bring back to life the door panels, kick panels, and dash pads. There really is no brain surgery going on here, just the right products with a color-matched spray dye and a minimal amount of sweat.

There are a few factory colors that are getting hard to match, mostly because the toners used to mix the correct color are not being made any more. In fact, the project in question (a '67 Chevelle station wagon) had a hard color to match. As a result, a small piece of the interior or a swatch of the original vinyl may need to be sent to Just Dashes prior to ordering this kit. Once in the hands of the expert color matcher, the swatch will be matched as close as humanly possible with a custom-mixed color.

After this problem has been overcome (as a rule, most original color toners are still available and on hand at Just Dashes), the process is relatively easy. The act of pulling the interior door and window cranks off is more work than re-coloring the panels. (Unless, of course, you own the tool to remove the door and window crank clips, then that becomes an easy process, as well.) Once the panels have been removed, the rest of the project is much like painting anything. The areas to be painted need to be very clean, so a strong cleaner, spray bottle, paint brush (for cleaning, not painting), and Scotch Brite pad are all included in the kit. The paintbrush will aid in scrubbing into deep grain and tight crevasses that the Scotch Brite pad may not reach into.

Once all of the panels are clean and dry, take some time to mask any trim or emblems that could not easily be removed beforehand. For the hard plastic parts, like the kick panels, the kit comes with a spray primer to help with adhesion between the plastic and the dye. The primer works best if you spray a couple of light coats and allow them to dry. While the primer and panels are drying, take time to mix the dye thoroughly. This is a very important step, so don't skimp on it. Once the dye is mixed well, pour it into the cup attached to the bottom of the spray can and tighten together so no drips will occur. To spray, simply try to cover with even, light coats of color. Do not cover the panel with thick coats, as this will leave the color streaked or may even produce those dreaded "runs."

We did have good results, as you will see in the photos, with the dried sheen and how the dye laid down and set up. It does not seem as if we spray painted the panel but rather had them professionally dyed. The directions that are included in the kit are thorough and easy to read. With this in mind, give the kit a chance or send all of your panels to Just Dashes where they can service your panels no matter how bad they look.

The Winning Collection put together an ultimate 1967 Chevelle Pro Touring build with distinctive modern features like Lexan hood windows, LED accent lighting, and Hella headlights in addition to the usual LS7 and T-56 powertrain.